The Friday Freelancer #006: The one thing that may be costing you $1000s

Hey! Huw here.

Welcome to all the new Friday Freelancers who have joined us since last week. We are over the 600 subscriber mark and I could not be more appreciative.

Grateful for your support. Thank you! ??

Each Friday, I send out one tip to grow your freelance design business.

Today's issue takes may take you just 120 seconds to read.

Not long at all, grab your coffee! ??

Enjoy

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This week's tip: Why you need to capture client testimonials for your design business

Oh, Huw, yes I know that...but why does it matter to my business.

It matters so much to your business. Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Creates social proof

Have you ever booked a table at a restaurant because your friends and family told you they were amazing?

Or bought something online because of some celebrity endorsement? Chances are you have.

That is social proof. People want to work with people. But more people want to work with people they can trust. A testimonial can show they have helped their clients with a specific problem.

2. Build trust and credibility

According to Big Commerce, 72% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a business more and 88% of consumers trust an online review as much as personal recommendations.

Bonus tip: Including a headshot with your client testimonials will increase your credibility and builds trust.

3. Shows you can solve a problem

Really clear and concise testimonials can illustrate how you were able to solve a problem or challenge for your client.

4. Increase conversions

According to Big Commerce, customers who interact with a review are 58% more likely to convert to a sale. That's pretty good odds don't you think!

5. They humanise your brand

Testimonials create a human touch to an otherwise tech-based business in design.

It can sometimes feel a little removed from the business-to-client relationship, especially with a lot more people doing business via Zoom. This creates the connection between human to humans and strengthens that empathy we have for each other.

OK, where shall we gather these testimonials?

• Google My Business
• Your website homepage
• Product or service page
• Underneath your case studies
• Social media
• Dedicated testimonial page
• Sales presentation
• Email campaign

Basically everywhere you can!

So to finish up we've identified why testimonials are so vital to building trust with our clients.

Next, let's talk about some of the most effective ways you can improve your testimonial success rate.

• Be proactive: call or send an email to request a testimonial as soon as the project is complete. That way your amazing service and smile are front of mind. They are more likely to give you a positive testimonial when it is fresh.
• Make it easy for them: create a link to your Google My Business page or another service that captures testimonials (try https://testimonial.to/) Make it easy for them. Create less friction between choosing to make a testimonial or not.
• Request a video! Don't settle for just the usual text-based review. Go one better with a video version
• Ask better questions! Don't just leave it up to them to figure out what to say. Examples may be:
• What was the problem/challenge when we started working together?
• What was the outcome of the project?
• What made you choose me instead of other designers/agencies?
• Would you recommend my services to others? If so, why?

That's it for today's tip.

Testimonials we all know we need to get them but are we capturing the right information!? For the best results share your testimonials wide and far across all your social channels.

In no time, you will see an upturn in conversions and trust.

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That's all for this Friday. 1 simple tip for your freelance design business.

If you are enjoying this newsletter, the best compliment you could pay me would be to share it with others on LinkedIn.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers, Huw

P.S. Whenever you're ready, there are 3 ways I can help you...??

1. Build a?better and more predictable freelance design business?here.

2. Need help getting clients? Consider joining my?community 'Level Up!'

3. If you're curious about how to become a Six-Figure Designer. Book your FREE discovery call?here